LOS ANGELES >> After the Clippers dispatched the Kings in Sacramento on Friday night, Blake Griffin iced his joints and marveled at what Paul Pierce just managed to do.

Pierce, after not playing a second of basketball since this preseason, drilled a pair of 3s, made the right passes and performed like he’d been playing 30 minutes a game.

“He’s just, obviously, a pro first and foremost. He stays ready,” Griffin said. “That’s such a Paul thing to do.”

With Wesley Johnson injured and nursing a heel injury, coach Doc Rivers turned to Pierce in Sacramento to match up with the Kings’ small-ball lineup.

“We anticipated that. What I loved about him is that he was ready,” Rivers said of Pierce. “When you haven’t played the entire season and step in and the first time you touch the ball, he made a pass for an assist. The second time he touched the ball, he made a 3. The third time, he had a dribble handoff that let Austin get to the basket. It was a seamless transition for him, and very few players can do that except for Paul, who has a great basketball IQ and a great feel.”

Pierce came on for the Clippers in the second quarter after Rivers used Brandon Bass for three minutes early. He badly missed his first shot, a 3-point try, before drilling his next from the far corner.

“He’s a pro, man,” Austin Rivers said pregame, echoing everyone’s assessment. “He’s always ready to play, and it shows you the level of player he is.”

So, the Clippers are going to open the door for Pierce to take on a bigger role, right?

Not exactly.

“We keep things the way they are. We’re doing pretty well,” Doc Rivers said. “There’s no reason to recreate the wheel or anything like that. On nights that Paul fits, he’ll play. The key is I think Paul has been great, he’s been ready for it. Last year, it was a completely different role for him. He’d never not started for the most part, so I think he struggled with it.

“This year, he pretty much understands his role and he’s ready for it.”

Paul ailing?

Chris Paul won’t say how much his shoulder is bothering him, though the in-game padding he’s wearing and the post-game ice wraps he’s needing tell some of the story.

Quick hits

Wesley Johnson, who hasn’t played since the Clippers’ win in Oklahoma City, said he hopes to be back Monday against Toronto. Johnson hopes to complete an on-court workout Sunday for the first time since suffering the left heel injury. … The Clippers announced second-round pick Diamond Stone has been assigned to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA’s Development League.